How to Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro without Losing Data Easily

Windows 10 Home VS Windows 10 Pro

As the newest operating system and successor to Windows 8.1, Windows 10 has several available editions offered by Microsoft; Home and Pro are two baseline editions, which have the core features of the new OS.

However, Windows 10 Pro is more advanced in features compared to the Home edition. To be specific, it exclusively has additional features including BitLocker disk encryption, the ability to join a Domain or Azure Active Directory and use Remote desktop, device guard, group policy support, etc.

Related article: Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro – Which One Is for You?

For regular consumers, Windows 10 Home is enough, but some business users or professionals prefer to use the Pro edition with more powerful features. However, most PCs come with the Home edition. To get the high performance, you can choose to upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro easily.

Something You Should Know Before Update

1. The drive C or the drive for Windows installation should be large enough to download and install the upgrade files. Or else, Windows update will fail.
2. Back up your important files with MiniTool ShadowMaker, a free backup software, before Windows update since system accidents may cause data loss
3. Ensure no bad sectors and file system errors are on the drive, otherwise, BSOD errors might occur, making you in to reboot loop.

How to Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro Without Losing Data

Method 1: Windows 10 Pro Upgrade via Microsoft Store

If you haven’t yet paid anything for the upgrade, and haven’t got a copy of Pro, you can choose to use the Windows Store for the upgrade. Just follow the steps:

Step 1: Go to Settings in the Start menu and choose Update & security.

Step 2: Navigate to the Activation page.

Step 3: Click Go to the Microsoft Store or Go to the Store link.

Step 4: After opening the Microsoft Store, you can click the Buy button to purchase a Windows Pro upgrade license. This will cost you $99.

Step 5: Sign in your Microsoft account, choose a payment method and Windows will finish the upgrade quickly.

Method 2: Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro via a Product Key

If you have a copy of Windows 10 Pro, you will have a product key to enable the Pro edition. You can follow the steps below to upgrade to Pro from Home.

Step 1: Go to Settings > Update & security > Activation.

Step 2: Click Change product key and input 25-character product key of Windows 10 Pro.

Step 3: Choose Next. Then, the update will start.

Final Words

Now two methods to upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro have been shared with you. Just try a method depending on your actual situations. Remember to create a backup before any update to avoid data loss!